The House of Representatives on Monday denied an alleged plot against the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, over delays in constituency project funding, describing the claims as misleading and based on informal conversations taken out of context.

In a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Akin Rotimi Jr., the House faulted a media report (not by The PUNCH), which suggested that discontent over unpaid constituency projects was threatening to trigger a showdown against the Speaker.

Rotimi fumed that the report “elevates isolated remarks and informal conversations from House WhatsApp groups as if they represent the official position of any House caucus or the House itself.”

According to him, the 10th Assembly remained united under Abbas despite its diversity of political, ethnic, and religious affiliations.

While acknowledging delayed contractor payments, Rotimi said the issue was not peculiar to constituency projects by lawmakers but was part of wider fiscal challenges across the federation.

“Delayed contractor payments are a national challenge and not peculiar to the constituency projects nominated by honourable Members,” the statement noted. “For many weeks, the House leadership, through the Appropriations Committees, has engaged the Honourable Minister of Finance. Payments have commenced, and the leadership is committed to ensuring all outstanding 2024 obligations are settled expeditiously.”

Rotimi also acknowledged that lawmakers were under pressure from constituents to deliver nominated projects, but cautioned against misinterpreting these concerns.

“Honourable members face pressure from constituents expecting nominated projects to be implemented in line with participatory development,” he explained. “While these agitations are valid, they must be understood within current fiscal realities and not misrepresented.”

On the controversy surrounding recruitment into the National Assembly bureaucracy, he distanced the House’s leadership from the process, insisting that it is the exclusive responsibility of the National Assembly Service Commission.

Rotimi said, “The House Leadership neither conducted nor controlled the exercise. The process follows principles of Federal Character, inclusiveness, and merit, ensuring fair representation of Nigerians across states and geopolitical zones.”

He said the Speaker had ordered a probe into the recruitment exercise to ensure transparency.

“In line with its oversight mandate, the Speaker has directed the House Committee on Public Service Matters, which oversees the National Assembly Commission, to conduct a thorough investigation of the recruitment exercise and report back to the House,” he said.

The House also dismissed suggestions that projects or development benefits were being skewed in favour of certain regions.

“Suggestions that development is unfairly concentrated in any one region are false, divisive, and unhelpful. The House operates on principles of equity, justice, and fairness,” the statement stressed.

The House leadership reiterated its commitment to “upholding transparency, inclusiveness, and fairness in its constitutional mandate of lawmaking, oversight, and representation,” urging members and the public to ignore insinuations of a rift. (The PUNCH)

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